To Create Something Tangible
by january sunshine
Summary: After losing the only family he has, Sora crumbles. Riku rushes to his aid because he's been through it all before. Warning: child abuse, violence, harsh language. Future Soriku.
1. prologue, criminal

Why did I write this? Well… I had ideas. I read _Lithium_, by **Hades' Phoenix **on fanLib(dot)com and was just inspired. At first, I thought about making someone a drunk--when I asked who, four people recommended a character--and I tried it, but I only had one image. And then I thought, who could be beaten? Again, I asked, and they picked the same person. So I tried it. Half of my internet RP characters are child abuse victims--I'm not really one, but I get into it and try to relate, plus I had a few friends who were, so I did my research!

Please don't hate me for what I did. It was fun.

And yes, I'm currently still writing _Schemes and Dreams_… the WM Sequel is being made!

**H'okai.** This Story Contains Child Abuse and Violence. If you can't handle that, why'd you click the link?

**Disclaimer:  
**I got Chain of Memories as a graduation present--three months early from a freshman in band…and that's really all I gotz. Ya…

* * *

**To Create Something Tangible**

Prologue

**_criminal_**

* * *

**27 Feb. Case 893162--_Sora Nomura_.**

**Age: **15  
**Height: **162.6 cm (approx 5'2")  
**Weight:** 39.01 kg (approx 86 lbs)  
**Hair: **brown  
**Eyes: **blue

**Mother: **Rinoa Heartilly-Nomura. Note--currently admitted to Twilight North Institution.  
**Father: **information unknown.

**Reason for admission: **Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.  
Separation from his mother contributes to the Attachment Disorder, Selective Mutism as a coping technique.

* * *

_9:42 PM._

"This is Nine-One-One, what is your emergency?"

"I just heard gunfire coming from next door. I don't know what happened, but all of a sudden, there were these loud pops, and I know a kid lives down there--" The caller had been speaking very quickly and his words almost jumbled together, but he managed to clear his throat and talk to the operator on the other line. His hands shook as he stood by the window, staring silently through the darkness at the still house in front of him.

It had gotten silent.

"Sir, please tell me where you are," the operator asked.

He gave an address and she assured that police were being sent. With a frown, he took a shaky breath and continued to watch on. Nothing had moved… "I don't know what's going on. That house is usually quiet, or if there's noise, I don't hear it," he mumbled. "Just these loud pops… six or seven of 'em."

* * *

_9:51 PM._

"Nine-One-One, what is your emergency?"

"Someone's setting off firecrackers across the street!" an elderly woman said angrily into her phone. "I don't know what's going on, but it's not independence day!" She huffed. "I demand that you send police!"

The operator sighed softly. "Ma'am, could you give us your address?" Upon hearing the older woman's response, she blinked, looking at the screen in front of her. "Police have already been sent to that house, on a report of gunfire."

"Gun…fire? Why would someone be shooting guns off there? A little boy lives over in that house, he's just a troublemaker!"

"Police have been sent, ma'am."

* * *

_9:54 PM._

A set of loud whining bleared through Yen Sid Avenue that Thursday evening, announcing the arrival of two police cars speeding down the road with their lights flashing through the sky. They had just received three calls reporting a disturbance from a small, pale blue house, and knew they had to approach with caution. Gunfire had been suggested, and that meant danger. They weren't quite sure what had happened, but they were about to find out.

The neighbors who had called in reported a child. A young boy, probably in his early to mid teens, was said to live inside and could be causing trouble, but they couldn't jump to conclusions just yet. This could be a boy in a nearby gang, or a child who had accidentally grabbed hold of a gun, or something entirely different. They weren't sure what they should prepare for, but they figured it could be anything, so they needed to keep their eyes open and fingers on their triggers.

The cars stopped, and two of the officers headed to the door, both with a hand on their belts. They waited anxiously, knocking twice.

No response…

They kicked at the door and quickly broke it in, wood snapping and cracking as the lock separated and fell to the ground. They were met with silence, and one officer drew his gun and flashlight, pointing it around the dark house as he looked for the source of the disturbance.

"Hello?" he called out.

The other officer watched his back and they slowly progressed into the house. He flipped on a light and saw the form of a thin, long-haired person dash from the end of the hallway, hurrying to a bedroom. "Stop!" he yelled at the figure.

It escaped through a window, but he quickly followed. His boots made loud clunks as they ran down the hallway, dark eyes focusing on where his light shone. Blood smeared on the walls, drops on the floor, and then…

The body of a child.

Probably no older than fourteen, if that. He lay quietly on the floor in the back bedroom, a pool of blood forming on the carpeted floor underneath him as his pale eyes stared emptily at the ceiling. At first glance, the officer suspected that he was dead, but he slowly blinked and his mouth opened, lungs weakly gasping for air. The officer approached quickly, checking the pulse. Weak.

"Hey, kid!" he said quickly. "Can you hear me?"

The kid's eyes fluttered towards him, though he received a congested cough in response. Behind him, the second officer was speaking in his walkie-talkie, and he quickly called for help on his.

"An ambulance has been dispatched," the operator told him, and quickly began explaining what to do.

Locate the source of the wound.

"…which one?" he muttered. "This kid's slashed up bad…"

As the police officer looked at the boy, he frowned at the amount of cuts he found. The child's previously-blue shirt was cut to shreds and now a darkened blue, slashes all over his chest. There was an X over where his heart was, one so deep he was certain he saw bone past all the blood. He had cuts on his arms, old bandages newly soaked and ripped, pale skin scarred from old wounds and drenched in blood from new ones. His stomach had two long slashes, not as deep as the mark across his heart, and his right leg had been cut numerous times.

Besides the smell of blood, the officer picked up on gunpowder and soon noticed a few bullet holes in the wall, some in the floor. A struggle, he guessed, and those were the ones reported. They didn't seem to strike their target, he was guessing, and he frowned, looking down. The officer wasn't sure this boy could even make it; he had made it past bullets, but not the knife. Calmly, he pressed his hand against the boy's chest, trying to stop the bleeding even though his hand did little for the child in front of him.

"Kid, can you tell me your name?" the officer asked, trying to keep the boy awake and responsive. If the boy lost consciousness, they couldn't be certain he'd wake again.

Bold cerulean eyes turned to look at him, an empty expression on the boy's face. The officer was almost certain that the boy wasn't going to survive, and he swallowed, trying to keep himself from getting emotional over this kid. Just one of many victims, he figured. He couldn't give up hope too quickly, though, focusing on making sure the boy didn't lose too much blood.

The boy slowly opened his mouth to talk, blood dribbling down the side of his face. His eyes looked blurred and unfocused, and he weakly coughed. "Mommy…" he murmured. "I… not worth… liv--" his words dissolved into coughs, and the officer lifted his head a little, frowning.

"Okay, kid, just stay awake, okay?" he said. "The medics will be here in a few minutes, think you can stay awake?"

He received an empty look as an answer. "Hates… me…" he whispered. "Hates…"

Frowning, he wasn't sure how to respond and only asked the boy to keep talking to him.

* * *

_7:46 AM_

The young teenager at the front table had been ready to leave for school. She was excited for that day, since the lack of homework assignments and tests in her classes relieved her workload and made her a lot happier, and she figured this deserved a cheerful phone call to her good friend. He should be awake by now, she figured, probably running late as usual and scrambling around the house to find his shoes.

After three rings, she wanted to worry. He usually answered by then…

Maybe he was running late. Sometimes he couldn't reach the phone--maybe he was burning his pancakes or he was in the bathroom--by the earlier rings, and he apologized for his delayed answer. She just had to wait for that.

Six rings and someone answered.

"Hello."

Her eyes widened as she stared towards the phone. "You're… not… who are you?"

"Officer Shang of the Twilight Police Department. The residents of this household are unable to answer--"

She didn't want to hear more of his watered-down explanation, a question quickly surfacing into mind. "Is he okay?"

"The young male at this residence?"

"Yes! Please tell me he's okay… what happened? Why are the police there?"

The officer sighed. "There was an incident last night. The boy is currently in critical condition at a local hospital."

She almost dropped the phone.

* * *

_8:13 AM_

He had begged his foster parents to stop by. After hearing about the disturbance on the news, he turned to them and insisted they drive to find out what had happened. A knot swelled in his chest, with false hope that maybe the address in his book was wrong, that maybe he was lying.

_If anything happens…_ That was why. He had been given an address to soothe worries and clear suspicions and promised not to visit unless absolutely necessary. He had been told everything was better now, that nothing bad was going to happen anymore. He woke the next morning expecting to meet his friend in the cafeteria at school, and soon heard the news. His parents didn't hesitate in driving down the streets, though they were quickly brought to a stop as the police stopped their car.

One of the officers began to speak to his father, and he glared. He didn't have time for the police to get in his way, he needed to see--he had to be sure…

He clambered from the back seat and began a sprint for house 103 Yen Sid Ave. An officer called out to him, another tried to stop him, and a few of the neighbors watched as he dashed across lawns and weaved his way past bystanders on the sidewalk to reach the house, stopped immediately at the yellow Caution tape surrounding the gates. The tape stretched from the mailbox in the center to the next door neighbor's fence, and around the side of the house. Crime scene investigators, police, detectives, and other unidentified people in uniform surrounded the place, talking on the lawn, taking notes, collecting samples…

Two of them stopped him. "Kid, you can't come in here--"

"What'd she do to him?" he asked quickly, his voice rushed and breathless as he forced out the words. "Is he okay--she didn't kill him, did she? He's not dead--he couldn't have _died,_ could he? Did she kill him?"

One of the men in front of him placed a hand on his shoulder and frowned. "Your friend's at the hospital right now," he answered. "Did you know about what was going on here?"

"Oh fuckin' hell… he wouldn't tell me," the boy replied softly, trying to catch his breath. "It… it didn't seem so bad--what'd she do to him?! Is he gonna survive?"

"We don't know yet--"

They didn't know. They couldn't tell him if his friend was okay? He… he didn't believe this. Shoving his way past one of them, he ran towards the front door, dodging hands outstretched to grab him. One officer called to another, and two tried to stop him, hurrying to him to keep him from the crime scene. He ran faster, crossing a bloodied living room.

The hallway walls had crimson handprints, smudged and small as if left in a rush. The floors had droplets and small smears from feet crossing the ground. He managed to dodge another officer and made his way to the back room…

Aquamarine eyes widened at the sight of a large pool of blood on the ground, bullet holes on the back wall, the floor… One officer grabbed his arms, attempting to pull him away. He struggled against the officer, but he couldn't figure out why. Here… laying in front of him was blood…

"I should've stopped it," he whispered, tears blurring his vision. "I should've… I could've stopped it…"

The officer sighed softly. "No… you shouldn't think that way… you didn't need to see this, kid."

Riku couldn't help it. At that moment, he cried.

* * *

**_to be continued_**

* * *

Thar, the prologue! It took me a while to write, merely because I had ideas, but none of them seemed long enough, and squeezing out more things got a bit odd. I think it gets better in the other chapters, I hope you guys do, too.

**:Darkness Princess.**


	2. 01, child

Ooh. I didn't think this would be liked so much, but I'm happy it is!

And because I'm not repeating the hour-long response section, I thank everyone who reviewed, faved, or alerted the fic. Yes, I got all the messages, I love them a lot, and I didn't delete any of them! Thank you, hearts!

**Disclaimer:**  
I own a Sora cosplay, does that count as anything? No...? Okay... le sigh.

* * *

**To Create Something Tangible**

Chapitre 1

**_child_**

* * *

_He could remember the burning feeling of the cold steel as it approached his skin and ripped through, the sharp edge separating his flesh, dissecting his arm as it sunk in deeper, close to a vein, severing nerves, approaching bone. The blood flowed out and blanketed him, warming him even as it cooled on his skin from the night air. Cool, damp blades of grass tickled his cheeks, dirt soft and muddying under his back, though he was only mildly aware of the field in which he lay. Something hummed in the air, buzzing by his ear, a soft and constant noise that made him wonder if he was dreaming._

_He could've been dreaming. The floating sensation of nothingness closing in on him made everything so surreal, from the stars dancing around in the sky to the smile on his mother's face as she looked down._

_A single crimson droplet fell onto his nose--_

And he awoke with a start, bolting to sit up. Something wet his face...? The gentle gliding of a single water droplet slid down his nose and to his lips, and his tongue slid from his mouth to delicately taste it. Rain water, most likely. He could hear the gentle pitter-patter of the water on the roof, and the louder, routine drip of a leak.

He didn't want to deal with this. It was in the middle of the night, and this was his bed.

The water dripped onto his pillow and he bit back a groan, tugging the pillow away and hugging it closely. There wasn't much else. He took a bucket from the corner and emptied it of the small items it held, then placed the bucket to balance on his mattress. It would collect water, and in the morning, he'd empty it and move his bed. Tonight, he was much too tired.

Grabbing his goldenrod-yellow teddy bear, he curled up on the cold concrete floor and yawned. "Night night, Pooh," he said to the toy. Imagining that it wished him a good night in return, he closed his eyes and went to sleep.

* * *

**Tuesday**

_7:16 AM_

Sora awoke breathless, compliments of his mother's left foot, as she kicked him directly in the stomach. He felt ready to hurl, but instead sucked in a breath and clutched his teddy bear to his stomach. He was cold... cold, sick, and hungry... it was early and these wake-up calls weren't so kind to his health.

"G-good morning, mother," he squeaked. He didn't even have to open his eyes to know she was scowling at him.

"Fuck you," she replied dully. She had no bite at all to her swearing, for it was too early in the morning, yet she continued her insults. "Slept in a fuckin' puddle, that's what you did. Look like you pissed all over yourself and then played in it. Dirty bastard."

As he struggled to stand, he found himself shoved against a wall. Foggy cerulean eyes opened to focus on the bed, where he noticed that the bucket on his bed had fallen over. It must have collected too much water and tipped, all of the contents most likely pouring onto him overnight. Even his teddy was soggy on one side. That, and the air conditioning his mother turned on, would explain why he was cold.

"My roof's leaking," Sora tried to explain the puddles before his mother left the room. If she exited unhappily, she would return with a switch, paddle, remote, shoe... whatever she could find at arm's length and use to hit him.

She stared at him long and evenly, then frowned at his room. "Mop it up before you leave, or you'll be swimming to your bed," she advised, walking towards him. She narrowed the distance between them, her black heels clinking on the ground as she cornered him. Fear and worry had him holding onto his bear tightly, looking at her as if expecting her to strike. Instead, she placed a small kiss on his forehead and turned around.

"I'm leaving for work now," she said while leaving. "See you later. Have dinner ready or it's your hide."

"Yes ma'am."

"And don't stay so late after school. You have no business wasting your teacher's time if you're not gonna bring me home an A."

She grabbed her purse and keys and left a few seconds later. Sora could only wait until he watched through his blinds as her car drove away. Once it left, he rushed to the bathroom to expel his meager meal from yesterday morning.

The heaving and coughing and spluttering had him shaking and gripping his toy for dear life as he held the bear against his stomach, trying his hardest to will himself to stop. He couldn't do this, he had to stop, and mop up and get ready for school. He just had to...

_Ring... ring..._

The phone... he had to answer.

He struggled to stand, and quickly collapsed onto the floor again, a retching noise escaping his lips. Nothing left his system anymore.

_Ring..._

He felt _so _empty.

Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he scrambled into the living room and pulled the cordless phone from its stand. Pressing the 'talk' button, he moved it to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Sora!" a cheerful voice called to him.

Oh... "Hi, Kairi!" As he shifted to sit on the floor, he readjusted the phone to balance on his shoulder and began to bounce Pooh happily on his lap. "What do I deserve such an early call for?"

Kairi giggled into the phone. She was one of the first friends he made in middle school and his first crush, and even though their little relationship failed miserably, they remained good friends. He didn't think he'd ever get used to her early morning phone calls, though. She called in the mornings because he was unreachable at nights--his mother didn't like the phone ringing when she was home, unless she needed to take it--and often reminded him of tests and assignments he had to do.

"Just making sure you're awake! Remember, there's that big test in biology today," she told him.

Sora gasped loudly. "T-there... is?" he squeaked. "Know what, Kairi? I totally forgot! I guess I'll be studying on my way to school, then..." Struggling to stand, he shakily made his way to the kitchen and seized the mop, then moved back to his room.

She sighed loudly. "Sora, didn't you remember the teacher telling us about it yesterday?"

He did. He could remember first period perfectly clearly as Dr. Hojo clapped his hands together and declared that they would have a biology test covering everything they had learned that unit. Sora had stayed in the library after school and read the unit twice in his textbook, hidden in the fiction section with a few comics sitting next to him in case anyone wandered over.

"No, sorry... wasn't paying attention," he lied smoothly.

"Sora! Don't you _want_ to pass?" Her voice, which took on a chastising tone, softened suddenly. "Look... can you be at the school in half an hour? We can try and get some more studying done before class."

Sora looked at the small clock on his wall. _7:25_. If he dressed quickly, avoided breakfast, and ran, he could make it there in twenty. Plus time for mopping. Biting back a sigh, he resumed mopping. "Okay, sure! See you soon!"

"Bye, Sora."

"Bye, Kai!"

Hanging up, he tossed the phone onto his bed and continued mopping, squeezing water into the bucket that had betrayed him the night before. "You keep that this time!" he told the inanimate object, waving a finger at it briefly. He finished his mopping job and dressed within the next ten minutes, unhappy that he couldn't find his red shirt. He settled with the black one and his denim shorts, then tugged on his bright yellow sneakers.

"Okay, Pooh," he turned to the bear. "Time for me to go to school now. You're gonna stay in the closet again today, so Mommy doesn't find you." Smiling at the bear's always-cheerful expression, he set the toy on a shelf in his closet and shut the door. He then shoved his wet pajamas in a corner and grabbed his backpack, which had been under a leak. Ignoring it, he shifted to the living room.

For minimal interaction, his mother often left his lunch money on the living room table next to the Mickey Mouse cookie jar. No money meant he was being punished. Little money meant she was spending it elsewhere. He felt rather proud when she left him three hundred munny, at first wondering if she had counted it out first. He decided not to question it and shoved the coins into his pocket.

Maybe he could eat lunch today, then. With a slight smile, he bounced onto the front patio of his house, pulling the door shut behind him. He locked it calmly and let his keys join the jingling coins, then spun around.

Rain...

He had forgotten about it. It was still pouring heavily and he didn't own an umbrella. If he saved up his lunch money for a few more days, he'd be able to afford one...

So maybe he _wouldn't_ eat lunch today. He shrugged, pulled his jacket's hood over his head, and ran down the sidewalk.

* * *

_8:02 AM._

"You're late, Sora!"

Sora should've expected that. Kairi stood in front of him, hands on her hips as she smiled sadly. She had been waiting in the front, pacing under her umbrella as she searched for his mother's car, as she often did. She looked surprised when she saw Sora run over, partially out of breath and completely soaked.

"I'm sorry. Mom left early and I had to walk..."

She sighed and nodded. "Come on, you'll catch a cold out here!" Even as she dragged him to the doors, telling him to take off his shoes and his jacket to wring them out--he knew he'd be stuck in wet clothing for the most part--she quizzed him on microorganisms. He answered most of her questions wrong, and she sighed loudly.

"Sora! I know you know at least three of the answers! You're not as dumb as a brick!"

"How can I be as dumb as a brick?"

Sighing, they ended the studying with Kairi teaching him and handing him back his clothes. They were dryer, but he still went to class soggy and wet.

Dr. Hojo turned an unhappy look to him. "Sora... is there a reason your shoes squish with each step?" he inquired coldly, pale eyes staring down the thin brunet.

Sora physically shuddered, a nervous laugh escaping him as he sank in his seat. "I... walked. My umbrella broke last night so I couldn't use it," he answered. "We tried shaking them out..."

The teacher stared at him, then headed to the back of the classroom, returning with a towel. Dropping it on Sora's head with no further comment, he returned to the front of his classroom and began explaining the test. Name at least fifteen organisms and unique properties of each. Kairi wished him good luck and gave him a pencil, and he stared at the paper with interest. He knew this.

Slowly, he began to answer, but he paused, biting the eraser as he dried his head with the towel. Stalling. He rubbed his head with feigned urgency, staring at the paper in front of him, sometimes up at the teacher. Dr. Hojo had begun his Cheating Walk--where he calmly strolled down the isles and made sure students focused on their own papers--but he quickly stopped in front of one boy.

Sora blinked. He hadn't seen that student before. The boy looked older, silvery hair long and untamed. He sat in the front, staring at the teacher. They spoke in whispers, and soon, Dr. Hojo handed him a sheet of paper. Sora blinked... maybe he had a schedule change and moved from a different period.

"Eyes on your own paper, Nomura!"

Jumping, Sora quickly let the towel fall over his eyes and frantically scribbled words on the paper. He had been just stalling for time, but he knew answers. He wrote quickly, filling out his entire paper, then set his pencil down and resumed staring at the unfamiliar boy. New student? Maybe he was a transfer. If he had an accent, he might be a foreign exchange student--they were fun to talk to.

A hand slammed on the desk, and Sora blinked, looking up. Dr. Hojo stood in front of him, glaring darkly. "Nomura."

Sora gave him a sheepish smile. "S-sorry, sir..." Turning his eyes down, he stared at the desk quietly, listening as his teacher's footsteps led away from the desk, then paused. Then resumed again. Sora lay his head on the desk and continued to stare.

This fascination... was stupid. Sora was just being stupid. He grinned stupidly to himself and made a note to introduce himself to the new student. After a little while, he merely turned away and lay his head on the desk, completely bored now. Time passed, and Dr. Hojo ended up donating the entire class period for everyone to finish. A small boy named Vivi still had one answer left by the time the bell rang, and Dr. Hojo snatched his paper away.

"You're in high school, work faster!" he said coldly.

Vivi was almost in tears when he scuffled out, and Sora felt bad. Dr. Hojo wasn't the most pleasant of teachers. Deciding not to spend more time in the room than necessary, he picked up his bag, ignoring the small puddle which had formed on the floor, and slung it over his shoulder. Kairi waited at the door for him, most likely ready to ask how he thought he did--

"Nomura. Here, now."

Just his luck. He waved Kairi off, knowing he'd talk to her at lunch, and began moving towards the teacher.

That new student was still there. Shoving a new book into his backpack. Sora had to glance over his shoulder when he passed the boy's desk, and he caught him staring with glowing aquamarine eyes. He looked at him for a second, took a step forward, and tripped over his shoelace. Dr. Hojo looked displeased when he regained his footing and stood quietly.

"Y-yes, sir?"

The new boy let the door shut behind him, and Hojo held up the paper. Check marks lay next to every answer, and a plus-five for one part.

"You received the highest grade, and bonus points. But your suspicious behavior could possibly earn you no grade at all," he spoke calmly.

Sora paled. He worked hard on that test, and to know he could lose it all because of his curiosity would definitely hurt. And if his mother found out why, he knew he'd be in trouble. Nervously, he began to gnaw on his bottom lip.

Dr. Hojo stood up. "_But_ because I don't find you the type to cheat--and I don't know what you would've cheated on, I've decided to award you all points."

He bit back a sigh of relief.

"_But..._ next time I tell you to stop roaming eyes and you don't, it's a zero. Understand?"

"Y-yes... I'm sorry..."

He was allowed to leave, and all but ran from the classroom. The moment he stepped out, he realized that he had two minutes to make his way across the school to his next classroom, and he began running--and was quickly stopped by the principal... and lectured...

And late.

"You're late, Nomura."

Sora looked down. "S-sorry, Mr. Fair." He sniffled and shifted into the classroom.

The teacher, a tall, fairly gleeful man, looked positively foreboding as he looked down to the smaller boy. His spiky hair had been jelled back as usual, minus the bangs falling into his face, giving him dark shadows to add to his dark look. Sora shrunk inside each time he looked at the teacher, even though he knew the teacher wasn't upset with him.

Then he broke out with a smile and stared at him curiously.

"Sora, why are you soaking wet?" he inquired. "Were you out in this rain?"

With a shy smile, Sora turned to look at the floor. "Y-yeah... Dr. Hojo let me use a towel... just didn't work that great."

The kind math teacher wrote a pass for Sora to head down to the office and borrow a few of their donated or lost-and-found clothes, so he'd be dry. He smiled happily and headed downstairs as fast as he could--trying not to get frustrated each time he slipped on the floor--and returned to class in someone else's jeans and white turtleneck. Considerably dryer, thankfully. He walked in to find two papers on his desk and Mr. Fair standing in front of the board, trying to explain triangles.

Sora knew triangles. When his mother made him keep quiet in the living room, he watched a television special on math because the news was boring. He would've taken notes if his mother let him turn on a light. Mr. Fair pointed to the board and answered a question from a girl in the front, moving in a very animated fashion as he bounced back and forth to point at the board and explain items; figuring he wouldn't say anything to him, Sora began to read the papers on his desk.

First one was his last test, red decorating the paper as his teacher marked things up and pointed things out. Sora had missed exactly half of the problems due to simple mistakes, like accidentally dividing or subtracting when he wasn't supposed to, but for showing all of his work, he earned a few points extra. Score: 64. Failing...

Second one, his progress report. Grade: 52. A line of zeroes for missing homework assignments, one failing quiz grade, and the test. He passed three quizzes and completely aced one test. Then his mother punished him for failing a history test, and his grades switched in those classes.

Well, at least he was passing history.

But he'd have to get this signed. His mother definitely wouldn't be pleased... He shuddered and began digging through his backpack, sure he had done at least two of those assignments. By the end of Mr. Fair's Pythagorean Song and Lecture, Sora found four, wrinkled and wet, but he turned them in anyway, and he got half points for sheer pity.

His grade moved up to a 59.

Not passing still, but it was a start. Maybe his mother wouldn't punish him too severely when she signed them.

**

* * *

**

_17:43_

_"Any response, Miss Kisaragi?"_

_"No, sir... none at all. He hasn't moved."_

Noise... he didn't know where it was coming from, he couldn't see. Something covered one eye, his other sending a dull pain into his head each time he attempted to lift his eyelid to peer at the blurry world in front of him. He didn't know what he was staring at, couldn't decipher the shapes into logical beings.

He wasn't even sure they existed.

_"Can you hear me?"_

The voices drifted in unfamiliar patterns, shifting and twisting through the air as he wriggled around a bit. He didn't understand... where was he... why... here? Who was around him? He couldn't hear them, and his hands twisted around, his body shifting against the mattress as he grabbed the pillow and sank his teeth into it.

_"No, no, hun, don't do that..."_

Something touched his arms and weaved into his hands tried to loosen his grip. His fingers tightened hold. No... no...

"Please... no... s-stop..."

_"Sir! He's talking, sir!"_

Pounding noises, those sounds once again forming, louder, fusing and mixing until he couldn't hear them any longer. They died away into soft mumbles and he slid against the soft fabric of the pillow case.

"Bear...?" he mumbled. His voice sounded unfamiliar and unknown to his own ears, but he knew what he was thinking of. His arms feebly stretched out in front of him. "Bear..." By the time everything left him, he hadn't found what he had begun searching for.

**

* * *

**

end o1

* * *

I feel so messed up for writing this. And I'm posting under the jet lag! Yay me! Jet lag from happy college! Well, I'm home now, and tired... Love love, see you next time I respond!

**:Darkness Princess.**


	3. 02, accidents

Ohkai, few things.

First off, I thank these people:  
**9gemini6**, **Sweet Little Bumblebee '-'**, **AnimeDragonofFire**, **Ari**, **Cheerful-Pessimist**, **xeriwind**, **dyedlovingu**, **TheGreatHippoThief**, and **chicago x pillowz**

You are all really sweet for reviewing, and I'm happy. And a specific comment (mainly to **dyedlovingu**) it's supposed to be this confusing. Everything will be pieced together bit at a time with each chapter, don't worry. And to **Chicago x pillowz**, actually the prologue's somewhere in the loop.

If it makes you all feel better, I'll give you a hint: prologue happens in the middle! (Merely because I was kinda putting a twist on a style Robert Cormier used in **I Am the Cheese**, where certain chapters happened with others and the entire thing pieced together at the end, but because you guys can't just keep reading cuz I haven't written, I'll give you hints!)

Ta-da!

* * *

**To Create Something Tangible**

Chapitre 2

**_accidents_**

* * *

_Her warm hands gripped his arms and tugged him from his bed and he stared in shock. He opened his mouth to speak and nothing escaped but a small squeak, a soft whimper, and a plea. He called her and pleaded and she continued to pull him, bare feet dragging along the cool floors and scrambling oddly to move on their own, down a plain corridor._

_The walls seemed to close in..._

_She let him go and he fell backward, onto a pile of shoes._

_A door swung shut._

_She vanished into the darkness._

_He was alone here. Shouts, cries, screams... unheard. Tiny hands pounded against his surface, clawing the door, looking for a handle. Nothing came to his reach. Nothing came to his rescue._

* * *

**Wednesday, March 16**

_11:16 AM_

"Miss Gniyonna, I know it's a bit unnerving to be up here, but please..." The lawyer placed his hands on the side of the witness stand, looking at her calmly. "Just tell what you know."

When the red-haired girl nodded with tears still brimming in her eyes, he figured it was safe to continue.

"Alright... Miss Gniyonna, what can you tell us about Mr. Nomura?"

She brought a Kleenex to her face, gently wiping at her eyes. "Well, we were really good friends. I met him around three years ago, in middle school. He was my first boyfriend, and we would hang out all the time," she started. "The thing I noticed right off the bat was how cheerful he was. It kind of scares me now, now since I know what was happening... because he was always cheerful. Or happy. Always smiled. He'd come up at random times and go, 'Hey, Kai'—because he didn't like calling me Kairi—'I have a hug and I want to share!'

"He... never let anyone know what was going on... I knew his mom was a bit strict on him, and he told me she worked early and hated phone calls so he had to call me after school, but everything he said had a logical reason... I didn't know..." She dissolved into tears.

The prosecuting attorney handed her a Kleenex. "It's okay... take your time..."

She wiped her eyes and looked at him. It had added a bit of pressure being the first testimony, but she would be brave. For him. Since he couldn't sit here and speak on his own, she'd say what she could to help.

"Okay..." she said softly.

"Alright... Miss Gniyonna, can you recall any peculiar incidents regarding Mr. Nomura and the defendant?" the lawyer asked her.

"He didn't talk about her much," Kairi said. "Sora really didn't mention any of his parents, except when we were dating. He told me his mother didn't like telephones ringing while she slept and she worked odd hours. He had to call me, or I could call him in the mornings before school. He always got himself ready and sometimes his mother would forget to give him lunch money, so I'd pack enough to feed us both..."

**

* * *

**

Thursday

_12:15 PM_

He had been up for five hours, trying to clean for the last four. Stains, marks, small puddles... on the carpet and the tile and the concrete. Sora was trying to get rid of them so his mother wouldn't be unhappy with him. They were his stains, his problems...

His mother had punished him shortly after he awoke. She gripped him by the hair and yanked him to his feet, yelling obscenities and chastising as her hand parted the air and landed against his skin. Slapping, bruising his cheeks. He had to bite her arm to save his hair from her grasp, and the anger in her eyes brought an empty bottle from last night into her grasp.

It launched from her hands and crashed against the wall. Glass sprayed across the room, raining dark crystals over Sora, dripping in a poison he never wanted to taste.

She didn't need reasons when she had the toxins... his existence was reason enough to punish him.

And she left quickly after, for her second job. Sora knew she'd return smelling of cigars and perfume and other things he couldn't recognize, and she'd kiss his forehead and lock herself in the bathroom. Sick afterwards, always. Sora didn't know what she did, and he never asked.

He just knew, with the cuts that had formed on his skin, and the bruising, it wasn't smart to go to school.

And he had to clean up the blood before she came home.

The stains were tricky. By the time he worked the wraps around his arm, the small puddles had dried, liquor soaking into the carpet, and he was running low on soap. Two hours of much water, soap, and a blow-dryer... and the carpets seemed fairly clean, fingertips rubbed raw from scrubbing for so long.

Then he mopped the floor and wiped the walls and took the bottles, some empty and some not, to the kitchen and disposed of them. Venturing into the harsh sunlight for the first time that day, he trashed them in the dumpster down the street. Someone hissed at him, a dog barked; he ignored it and continued going until he reached his house and locked himself inside.

He looked at the clock again. _12:17 PM._

Sinking onto the couch, he grabbed the remote and turned on the television. News and court shows... an infomercial about ladders. Sighing softly, he curled up on the cushion and slept the pain away.

_

* * *

_

_7:44 PM_

His mother had come home during his nap. She had turned off the television and draped a blanket over him. She had kissed his forehead and placed the dinner she bought in the microwave and locked herself in her room. Sora woke up and turned to check the clock in urgency, wondering if he woke before she had returned, but he felt the air conditioning blowing and the blanket's fabric on his legs.

With a soft groan, he shifted from the couch, his back stiff and limbs aching from staying curved for so long. He hadn't moved at all—he had a habit of keeping still in his sleep, no reason to toss around and rid himself of the warmth he so desperately clung to when his mother was home.

So cold...

"Sora, honey, come here!"

She was being nice to him today. Pleased, he hoped, about his cleaning job. Tugging the blanket around his shoulders, he shuffled down the hallway, cringing as his bare feet traveled across the cold floor to the door awaiting him. His mother stood in front of him, staring at him with a small smile. She was pale, make-up slightly smudged, lipstick fading, yet she smiled at him.

The diminishing scent of earlier's toxin wafted from her room, and he felt reluctant to approach, but he knew he had no choice. Not if he felt like sleeping tonight... he came over to her and she tenderly wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close. A hug... he gently hugged back, his head resting upon her bosom as she kissed his forehead.

"Mommy's sorry," she said softly. "I love you, sweetie... I just... wasn't myself."

Wasn't herself. Never herself, except for times like this. _This_ was his mother, this gentle woman hugging him and comforting him, wrapping him up in blankets and making sure he always had food. The other woman... that was someone else, something else. Not his mother.

Sora had to smile, hands clinging to the woman in front of him. She kissed his forehead again, then moved back to readjust the blanket. "There you go..." she spoke with a smile. "Keep warm, okay?"

He nodded to her and she draped an arm around his shoulders and led him to the couch.

"So, how was school?"

"It... uh..." He hadn't gone. Briefly debating whether to tell her or not, he looked at her and the concerned look forming and decided to confess. She was kind right now, he'd be okay. "I didn't go... I didn't feel too well."

"My poor baby!" she cried out, placing her hands on his shoulders. A gentle shove urged him to sit, and he obeyed calmly. "You stay right here. Feeling better? Feverish, sore throat?" Her hands touched his forehead and cheeks, and he quickly moved them away.

"Mom, I'm better now! I slept it off..." he said softly.

She nodded and tugged the blanket closer around his shoulders. "Either way, stay here. I'll go get your dinner. I brought you a happy meal. You like those, right, Pooh?"

Pooh... her pet name for him from when he was two and answered to it. It had remained one of her pet names for him, rarely used. Only for situations like these. She... was definitely nice, but lost in a time lapse.

But he did like happy meals and didn't think he'd be able to stomach anything more. He smiled and nodded childishly as she headed to the kitchen and returned with the square-shaped box, the traditional double-arc-shaped handles closed as she carried it over to him.

"Okay, you can eat in here only because you're not feeling well. Be sure not to spill any on the carpet."

Sora nodded and stuck his hand into the box. Fries... he liked these. They weren't warm as he often received them but he didn't mind just the same. Food was food, and his mother was being sweet, so he ate all he could manage to eat. She had gone back to her room for a while, leaving with a grin after she helped him open the toy, and he played with it and watched more television until he heard smashing—he returned to his room at that point.

**

* * *

**

**Friday**

_11:57 AM_

"Sora, this is Riku." Kairi grinned cheerfully as she introduced her new friend. The silver-haired boy from Dr. Hojo's class sat in front of him at their cafeteria table, simply looking at him. He really did have pretty eyes. That bold aquamarine color which seemed to stare deeply into the world in front of them, boring a hole as far as possible into his—no, past his eyes, into his very heart and soul...

Sora shut his eyes with his wide grin. "Nice to meet you, Riku!" he greeted happily.

Riku set down the sandwich he held. "Same here," he replied. Calmly, he turned to look at the girl sitting next to him. "You're right, Kairi. He really is cheerful."

Kairi nodded and grinned. "Yep! Oh... Sora," she paused and turned to him, joyous look vanishing as she extended a hand to touch his face, "what happened to your cheek?"

Cheek? Yes... earlier, when his mother had forcefully shoved him outside. He fell from the patio and hit his head on the sidewalk. He gave her a sheepish smile. "Tripped on my way out of the house. I stepped on my shoelace..." he explained—another lie, always a lie—and then glanced down. "Aww... these keep coming untied!" Leaning down, he began to tie them.

"One thing you should understand about Sora," Kairi turned to Riku and began speaking, "is that he always gets hurt somehow. Really stupidly, too."

"Oh..."

"Last week, he ran into a wall before school," she provided an example. "It was actually rather hilarious. His shoes were slippery and he thought it would be fun to run and slide... and then he crashed."

Sora popped up quickly. "Kairi! You said you weren't going to tell anyone!" he whined, though he didn't mind so much. Kairi would get suspicious if he didn't provide his own cause, so he staged a collision. The bruises were from earlier, she just hadn't seen them.

Riku blinked and looked at him closely. "Your arm's been bandaged," he commented softly.

Sora glanced down at his left arm and nodded. "Yeah... from this morning when I fell. Some meanie probably dropped a glass bottle on the ground outside my house, and I landed on some of it. Mom helped me get it out." He smiled at Riku, then nodded and pulled out his schoolbag, searching through it. "Oh, crap! I forgot to pack my lunch!"

Kairi sighed. "You do that a lot... oh yeah, Riku. Another thing. Sora forgets stuff. A lot."

He nodded sheepishly and pulled out a history textbook, flipping open to a random page. "Uh... the chapter we're doing... six?" he guessed, trying to find the page.

"We were… last _month_, Sora." She reached over and flipped pages for him, then leaned back and began digging through her lunch box again.

Sora was staring at the paper in shock. "Chapter _nine_?" he asked. "When did we get this far?"

"Apparently when you started failing, again," Kairi explained, handing him a sandwich. "Sora, read the chapters! Or you'll never pass ninth grade." She shook her head sadly, then chose to answer his confused look at the sandwich he had been given. "It's ham and cheese, if that's what you're wondering. Just eat it."

He smiled happily, genuinely, and nodded. "Thanks, Kairi. You're a lifesaver!"

His mother had signed progress reports a few days ago. She was disappointed, unhappy... downright pissed. She had punished him by refusing to re-stock the kitchen, leaving him with flour, sugar, water, and spices. No actual food... Then she had gone out to eat, and said she'd feed him once he brought her a passing grade.

He was surprised he had made it through so many days.

Unwrapping the sandwich with caution, he sank his teeth into the sandwich, savoring the flavor of his first meal in three days. He didn't think ham and cheese ever tasted so good, and now felt a new fondness for wheat. When he looked up, he saw Riku staring at him with an odd expression.

"…what? I'm hungry…"

_

* * *

_

_2:14 PM_

Sora found out he had Riku in his sixth period. The boy was moved to sit next to him, and was already in his seat when Sora stumbled in late, tripping when he entered. He bumped his elbow on the ground and almost hit his head, but he avoided most injury--minus the disruption to his stomach--when he landed.

His teacher looked at him from the front of the room. "That was an eventful entrance. Are you alright, Sora?" she inquired.

Ms. Gainsborough, probably one of the nicest teachers in existence, began walking towards the back of the classroom, waving her hand to subdue some of the giggles which had erupted when they looked at the boy. Sora had scrambled to his feet and stood in front of her, a faint blush appearing on his cheeks.

"I'm fine, Ms. Gainsborough," he told her, smiling. "Sorry... tripped over my shoelaces. They won't stay tied!" He had untied them before entering.

Her hand stretched out and gently touched his cheek. "Injured yourself on my floor, have you?"

"Oh, no, Miss! I fell outside this morning. Tripped on my way to school."

She sighed. "You've been doing an awful lot of tripping... perhaps safety-pinning your shoelaces shut would keep them from untying?"

"Maybe." He shrugged and headed to his seat to find Riku staring at him darkly. At first, Sora couldn't come up with an explanation as to why he received such a cold look, but then it clicked. Conflicting stories...

Uh-oh...

Riku leaned over and whispered, "You just lied."

Sora shook his head quickly and leaned down to tie his shoes again. His teacher gave him two safety pins and he struggled to force them through the laces but managed to secure them. In the mean time, Ms. Gainsborough began to hand out assignments and papers, giving them busy work as she worked on her grades. Sora immediately got to work, pencil rapidly scratching the paper--it kept him from looking at Riku, who kept eyeing him suspiciously.

Then it happened.

"Sora, could you come here, please?"

Grades. He was certain the teacher was going to ask for his progress report, and he had forgotten all of them at home. His mother signed them and set them on the table, and then rid him from the house that morning. He hadn't grabbed them... Slowly, he shifted from his desk, twisting his pencil in his hand as he walked up to the teacher.

Her voice was soft and pleasant, but her words were not. "Sora, did you bring your progress report?" she inquired.

He shook his head slowly.

"And why not?"

"Forgot," he mumbled, his eyes turning away quickly.

She looked at him then sighed and straightened in her chair. "Sora, you've forgotten it for three days in a row... did you show your mother at all?"

He nodded slowly. "Yeah, but... left it at home."

"Signed?"

"I think so..."

She sighed and grabbed her teacher's phone, rising to her feet. "I have to question your credibility. Come with me, Sora."

They moved out to the hallway and Ms. Gainsborough shut the door, to give him a bit of privacy. Once the classroom door successfully closed, she handed him the phone. "You know the deal... call your mother."

Shaky fingers stretched out for the phone and he took it from her carefully, turning it in his hand. He didn't want to do this--he couldn't call his mother, he knew what would await him at home. But he had to... biting his bottom lip as his eyes began to sting, he quickly pushed the buttons then held the phone to his ear, tugging his sleeves down to hide the bandages.

It rang once, twice... then... "Hello?"

"Mom..." he said softly, his voice beginning to creak. "My English teacher wants to talk to you..."

"About what, Sora?"

"G-grades..." he muttered, then quickly surrendered the phone.

Ms. Gainsborough took it calmly and began to speak to his mother, about homework assignments and tests, books he hadn't read, vocabulary he needed to study... he already had a record in this class, and it was getting worse. By the end of their conversation, by just hearing one side, Sora knew he was in trouble. A tear escaped.

Once she hung up, Ms. Gainsborough pat his shoulder. "It's okay, Sora... don't cry, it's not that bad," she said softly. "You can bring your grade up in time. Don't cry."

Sniffling, he wiped his cheeks with the back of his hands. He shouldn't be crying, he didn't need to. It was unfair to his teacher to think her class was the cause. It was only one of his many burdens, and he almost began crying again once he looked at her.

"S-sorry, M-Ms. Gainsbo-borough," he apologized through slight hiccups. "I d-don't mean to... b-but... fourth class... I'm fai-failing..."

She sighed softly. "Sora..." Calmly, she rubbed his shoulder until he managed to calm himself and stare up at her with pink eyes and damp cheeks. "I don't want you failing my class, Sora. You're a smart boy, but you have to put in the effort. If you bring me all seven missing assignments by next Monday, I'll give you full credit on them. Then make up your quizzes and do test corrections next week, and you'll be passing, I'm sure."

He hiccupped and nodded. "O-okay," he mumbled. "Thank you."

"It's nothing. Wash your face and get a drink of water and calm down, okay?" She smiled at him.

Sniffling again, he gave her a small smile, then turned to walk down the hallway, mentally screaming at himself for breaking down. He told himself to get a grip.

"Hayner, could you come here, please?" he heard Ms. Gainsborough calling into the classroom.

Well, _that_ made him smile, at least.

**

* * *

**

**Day 3**

_08:14_

"_Come on, you have to eat."_

He didn't move. He didn't feel a need to. He just felt... empty. Void. An odd sort of nothingness had formed, uncommon shapes drifting around daily. Sometimes there was pain, sometimes the void. He preferred the void. Things approached him, drifting to him, sliding across his skin, liquid touching wounds or cloth covering them. He didn't understand.

He knew he could, but he didn't want to.

Nothing touched him in the void. Things came near, but he didn't bother to care about them.

He didn't want to interact. Staying in the void kept him safer, where things couldn't reach him. They couldn't be ripped away from his grasp. Nobody could betray him, nothing could hurt. Just alone in the darkness, always alone in the void...

_"You haven't eaten... come on, I know you're hungry."_

The emptiness. Who was speaking about the emptiness? Part of his void, unfulfillment. That feeling of a lack of nutrients which were to help him continue. Just... simplicity.

Something touched his arm. He could barely feel--he was resisting--as he was moved, his body lifting from the comfort of his mattress. His arms began to hover, ready to extend and search for his security, but he found it at his fingertips. His hands gripped the blanket.

_"There we go..."_

He fell back at a gentle pace, as the support slowly left him, and found a small hill behind him. Soft as...

He blinked open his eyes and tilted his head to the side.

The color white stared at him, off-white lining the shapes as his fogged orbs fought to focus on the shapes.

"Pillows..." His lips moved, air escaping in a weak stream. A whisper.

_"Yes, that's it! The pillows... so you can sit up and eat, okay?"_

His eyes stared upward. More white... so much white. It covered his hands, leaving his fingertips bare, and danced across the ceiling, and surrounded him... the... shape... he saw darker colors. Pinks, blues, greens, black... a person in the midst.

And... the person held something.

_"Can you hear me?"_

His he lifted a hand and stretched it towards the person, to the items ruining the flat, monochromatic surface. His knuckles hit something hard and he groaned and moved his hands to his chest, fingers clawing feebly at each other.

There was an odd sound. Something like... disrupted talking, one sound repeated.

Laughter.

Yes, that was it. This... person... was laughing softly, and soon began to speak again.

_"It's okay, it's just the tray. I hope you're okay with oatmeal, it was today's specialty."_

He stared up again towards the white, his mouth hanging open dully. Clinking came to his ears, and he knew the person was moving. The silhouette shifted against the wall. Something warm and sugary came to his lips, and as he breathed in, he recognized. Oatmeal. His mouth opened and he welcomed in the spoon, taking the food calmly.

_"There you go! Just swallow..."_

He swallowed, and his mouth opened again, welcoming more. It was helping fill the emptiness for him, warming him. And he liked warm things. Halfway through the bowl, he turned away and wriggled, trying to rid himself of so many pillows. Where had they all come from? He didn't want to know, he just wanted them gone. They fell to the floor. One remained, and he curled up to it, softly whining.

_"What is it? Can you tell me--_what you want?"

Sora turned to look, then shut his eyes. "Pooh... say no more..." he mumbled. "Sleepy..."

The white blankets covered him and he knew something wished him sweet dreams. Tugging the blanket around him tighter, he welcomed sleep and the warming feeling which had entered his void and filled a piece.

**

* * *

**

end o2

* * *

Ya, tha'z all. The chappies might not all be posted once a week, but I hope I can keep this up. I've been having a lot of inspiration for this--instead of the WM sequel, sorry!--but it's still been fun.

Oh, and if the quotation marks seemed different halfway down the chapter, it's because my laptop uses them as one way, but the home compy uses them the simple way, and I get sick of changing them and do other things--cuz I get side-tracked a lot--so I'm sorry. I hope it doesn't bug you…

Reviews greatly appreciated!

**:Darkness Princess.**


	4. 03, trouble

Sorry x 100.

I've been working on moving in to college. Then my computer was being completely ghetto—Vista, oddly, doesn't have Word, so I've been writing this on my laptop and not bothering with trying to put it on the home comp. I figured "I'll post on campus!" and, so, well… I am.

College… is so great.

It'll get worse shortly, but right now, I revel in the glory of completely destroying Roomies J and D (and sometimes K and L) in a riveting game of BS.

I thank the following:

**AnimeDragonofFire**, **Pokinoi**, **Kitty321**, **Cheerful-Pessimist**, **animelover07**, **chicago x pillowz**, **TheGreatHippoThief**, and **KH3AQUA**. Your reviews make me happy!

To answer the mysterious prologue question, it's like this: "stuff happens, Prologue happens here, more stuff happens." Hope that helps! And yes, **TheGreatHippoThief**, I am teasing you all! -gives love-

* * *

**To Create Something Tangible**

Chapitre 3

**_trouble_**

* * *

**Wednesday, March 16**

_2:46 PM_

The defending attorney moved towards the witness stand, hands placed calmly behind his back. The woman sitting in the chair looked up calmly, a small frown on her face. Her long brown hair was calmly pulled in a ponytail, pink ribbon freshly tied and straightened before she took the stand approximately one minute ago.

"Miss Gainsborough," the attorney spoke, "Could you tell us your relationship with Mr. Nomura?"

She nodded calmly. "I was his English teacher," she answered.

"As a teacher, you're required by law to report all suspicions you may have regarding your students, are you not?"

"I am, b--"

"So how is it this one slipped through the cracks?"

She sighed. "The signs weren't evident. Sora was one of two hundred students I saw daily. He tried in class, but when he seemed to get stressed over an assignment, he'd stop working, rather than ask for help. In my four years of teaching, I've seen many students respond this way to the curriculum. I found him no different from many of them."

The lawyer frowned slightly. "You do know the signs, right, Ms. Gainsborough?"

She nodded. "I do."

He leaned forward. "Ms. Gainsborough, why didn't you recognize the other signs? The physical signs, emotional problems—explain what you _did_ see."

Aerith looked at him calmly. "He was a clumsy individual. Daily, he tripped into my classroom--literally tripped, often blamed on untied shoelaces. I dismissed it--some of my friends have done the same--"

"As much as Mr. Nomura?"

"Possibly even more. And people do litter. His excuses made sense to me," she continued. "As for emotional status, he was a cheerful person. He liked to smile, except when the assignments bothered him and he'd stare at them and try to figure them out on his own. I had only seen him cry once, and it was because he was failing over half of his classes and his mother wouldn't be pleased—but most mothers wouldn't, I understood that also.

"He was willing to work, though. To make his mother happy. If I knew why it was so important, I would've called it out sooner..."

* * *

**Monday**

_7:57 AM_

Sora was sure he was cursed with bad luck. He wasn't sure why, but when one thing happened, more were sure to follow. Usually, it was with grades—he would fail one class, and quickly fail another, and sometimes even two or three more, then his teachers would talk with his mother and she would quickly punish him, and he would sometimes become ill because she refused to feed a failure. Thankfully, this time, he didn't have to deal with problems like that. No, this time… this time it was the rain.

For the first two days, Sora had felt pleasant. His mother had returned around two in the morning on Saturday and locked herself in her room; Sora only saw her when he brought her glasses of water when she asked. That had been a relief, not having to explain what he did or where he had been heading. He had gone out Sunday afternoon to meet Riku and Kairi at the mall—an hour long trip consisting of walking and a bus ride, without an umbrella as it started to pour—and enjoyed every minute of eating cookies and trying on arm-warmers. Kairi's mother took him home, incapable of sitting back and watching him walk in the dreary weather.

That was when Monday came and destroyed the feeling. The curse, the looming feeling of dread forming the moment he woke up. Usually, his mother was gone in the mornings, working or doing other things that didn't seem to involve him. This morning, he heard her shuffling around in the kitchen at an ungodly hour, clanking pots about and swearing as she tried to cook. He checked his clock and realized that it was early, but he knew he couldn't sleep if she kept this about.

He stupidly went out to help her and woke up two hours later with a bump on his head and an uncomfortable feeling in his insides. On top of that, he felt warm and a bit dizzy, but he knew that despite how he felt, he wasn't going to stay home. He managed to dress and forced down some oatmeal his mother made, and then called out to his mother that he was heading for school and quickly left. Typically, he walked to school by himself in the mornings, leaving early once he was ready and hurrying down the sidewalks near the main road to reach his school. He didn't live far, but it wasn't a short walk to and from school, lasting at least forty minutes each way. He'd live, though. He always did.

However, his belief faltered when he paused for a few minutes, only a quarter of the way, to become violently sick in a few bushes. There went his breakfast… and his mother hadn't given him any money that morning, so he figured lunch wouldn't exist. He sighed softly and wiped his mouth on the back of his hand, continuing his walk.

Another ten minutes and he heard a call. At first, he figured it was just someone down the road calling for someone else, as it usually was, but he quickly recognized the voice as Riku, the taller boy standing outside a gas station, waving to him. A smile grew and he ran over cheerfully, waving back.

"Hey, Riku!" he greeted, stopping in front of him.

Riku smiled at him. "So you walk down these roads in the morning, huh?" he asked. "It's raining, though, where's your umbrella?"

Sora had forgotten the weather. He had grown used to it and had tuned out the pitter-patter of the rain against his shoulders and the fact that his hair had plastered itself onto his face and concluded that this did not bother him at all. He forgot the fact that his teachers and friends might question, though he always had an excuse for that—"It's still broken. I forgot to tell my mom and so I live with the consequences." He smiled up at Riku and gave a careless shrug of the shoulders to signal that he didn't care about walking in the rain. Right now, he really didn't care.

He just had to hope Riku didn't as well.

Riku frowned and looked at him. "You're cold, aren't you?" he asked. "Your cheeks are kinda pink…"

"Nope—"

"And your nose reminds me of Rudolph."

"The reindeer, Riku? Gee, thanks," he muttered sarcastically. Broadening his smile, he lifted his hands and shrugged again. "But really, I'm fine. It's my fault, anyway—"

"So you walk in the rain? Sora, you're gonna get sick!"

Sora grinned and shook his head. "I'm not gonna get sick! My immune system's like a rock, I'm great. Riku, you're such a worrywart. I really didn't think you'd be the type to be scared of a little rain…" A playful smirk formed as he tried to dismiss Riku's suspicions, but he had a feeling that it wasn't working.

Riku frowned deeply. "Sora… you're already sick, aren't you?" he asked. "You should've caught a cold already. From yesterday, at the mall… you looked cold the entire time, and then today, it's raining even harder and I can't believe you haven't _noticed_—"

"Riku!" Sora interrupted him quickly. "I'm _fine_. Immune system of steel… a-and I'm used to the cold. My house… it's cold…"

"But you're a blanket hog," Riku replied. "You said you liked blankets."

"Yeah, because they're soft." He pouted for a few seconds then looked away, coughing into his hands. Riku frowned and moved closer, rubbing his back until he was able to calm himself, an arm wrapping around his stomach cautiously.

Riku frowned, a hand moving to Sora's forehead. "You're sick. You went and caught a cold in this weather, and you were just going to go to school feeling like crap, right?"

Sora shook his head. "Riku, it's not what you think—"

"Then what is it, Sora?" Riku asked, staring darkly. His eyes were focused and intent, staring as deep as possible, and Sora cringed under the look.

Sora couldn't look at him when he was searching, and right now, he was definitely searching. He merely kept quiet, eyes looking at the floor. "…please, Riku… don't tell anyone."

Riku sighed, rubbing Sora's back gently. "Sora, what's going on with you? You're hiding lots of things…"

"I'm fine—"

"No, you're not! And you won't tell anyone, either!" Riku's voice rose and he quickly paused, looking at the ground as he tried to calm himself. "Look, Sora, I'm scared for you… something's really wrong. I know—"

"How can you know, Riku?" Sora asked quickly. "You can't, because there's nothing wrong! I'm not sick, I'm not hurt, and I'm not cold. And now I'm going to walk to school, and I'm not going to talk to you when we get there!"

"Riku?" a female voice called. "What's going on?"

Both boys paused, Sora blinking in confusion as he turned around. Behind him stood a woman with long brown hair and soft green eyes, watching them curiously. At first, Sora guessed it was his mother, but looking at her, he began to doubt. Riku looked nothing like her…

Riku's arm quickly draped around his shoulders and the silver-haired boy smiled at her. "It's nothing. Just ran into Sora. Remember, he was the one I was telling you about. Turns out he's stuck in this weather without an umbrella and I'm trying to convince him to bum a ride."

The woman smiled at Sora, taking a few steps over. "Hello, Sora. I'm Shera Highwind, Riku's guardian."

Guardian, not mother. That was interesting, but Sora was still a bit confused at how Riku had come up with such a quick lie. He blinked slowly then let a nervous smile form on his face as he stretched out a hand. "Nice to meet you, Miss Highwind."

She smiled. "A pleasure to meet you as well. Riku's said many fond things about you."

Sora gave Riku a look, catching a glimpse of aquamarine turning away in slight embarrassment. Shera didn't seem to notice and continued speaking to him.

"Oh, Sora, you don't have to feel bad at all about catching a ride. After all, you're both going to the same place, are you not?" he asked.

"We are!" Sora replied enthusiastically. He turned to Riku. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

Calmly, the three made their way to a vehicle parked in front of a gas pump. Shera calmly unlocked the doors and the three entered, Riku joining Sora in the back seat as Shera started the car. A majority of the ride was spent in silence, Shera mainly asking about classes and school and Sora providing concise answers. Once they arrived, Sora thanked her and climbed out, waiting for Riku to wave goodbye and climb out and for Shera to drive away before glaring.

"I didn't ask for your help—"

"You needed it—"

"—hate how you keep stepping in—"

"—not like I _like_ making you miserable—"

"—can't stand you, Riku!"

"—but you need help and you're not taking it."

The two ended up glaring for a few seconds, eyes narrowed and focused on the other as their frustration left them with curled fists and heavy breathing. It only stopped when Sora turned away, coughing again into his hands. Coughs turned to heaves and he quickly ran from the front of the school, leaving damp footprints. Riku followed them to the bathroom where he found Sora kneeling in front of a toilet, a hand on his forehead as he tried to calm himself. The older of the two kneeled next to his smaller friend and rubbed his back, sighing.

"Sora, we should take you to the nurse."

Sora knew he should, but he couldn't truly refuse until he was able to calm himself. He coughed once more and sighed, sitting back on his heels as he finally moved away. "Riku…"

"Sora, you're sick."

"I'm not sick," Sora muttered.

Riku sighed loudly. "Sora, you're coughing, you're feverish, and you just lost yesterday's dinner. You're sick, no matter what you say."

Sora glared again, ready to make another response, but his stomach took a quick turn for the worse and he found himself staring into the toilet again. Riku gently rubbed his shoulders, waiting for him to finish once more, and glanced over his shoulder slowly.

"You know, someone's going to walk in here and see you and they'll tell a teacher or get a nurse or a principal or something…"

"S-shut up, Riku!" Sora yelled at him, spitting into the bowl. He managed to stand, pushing himself away from Riku as he made his way to the sinks, rinsing the foul taste from his mouth. He couldn't deal with this, it was too much; it was the curse, it had to be. From being just an illness, to this, to Riku getting worried. Next, it would probably be Kairi dragging him to the nurse's office. Then his mother would have to get him and he would be in trouble for getting her out of bed, if she had gone to bed to begin with.

Riku kicked the flushing mechanism and quickly made his way to Sora's side, looking at him darkly. "I don't know how long you plan on hiding this. Once you step into class, you'll be caught…"

Sora shrugged. "Then I guess I've got until class." He briskly walked out of the room.

* * *

_12:06 PM_

Sora was lucky. He managed to hide his coughing during first period, mainly because Dr. Hojo had them doing lab work with a few chemicals. His lab partner, a cheerful girl named Selphie, did most of the work and kept up enough chatter to distract him from his ignored illness as he handed her tools and took notes. He welcomed the girl's distraction, happy he didn't have to focus on Riku and the eyes that kept looking into his soul. Unfortunately, that was just first period.

Second period was a different story. His stomach hurt again and he sat quietly, staring at the assignment in front of him as he tried to work. More information on the Pythagorean Theorem and calculating missing sides and angles of triangles, and Sora knew this… but he couldn't focus. He was just glad Riku wasn't sitting next to him, watching him and ready to tell the closest teacher, but he couldn't enjoy it much. He wanted to ask to go to the nurse, but if he did, he'd most likely be sent home.

He suffered through that class and slept through third (because he really didn't need health education), and he pleaded with Riku to keep this from Kairi as they waited during lunch. Riku agreed after much persuasion, but after Sora attempted to eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and ended up leaving lunch early, Kairi quickly figured it out.

"Sora, you need to visit the nurse," Kairi demanded from the doorway. She and Riku ended up following him to the closest bathroom, and she was only able to stand by the door and listen to him heave his guts out while Riku moved in to help.

"Not… sick," Sora mumbled as Riku assisted him in walking from the bathroom. He cringed and held his stomach, looking away as Kairi and Riku both told him, together this time, that he needed professional aid. It took him a few seconds to think of an excuse why he didn't wish to go, and soon blurted it out as he tried to push himself from Riku. "I… I don't like doctors," he mumbled. "I… just don't."

Riku sighed, pulling him close and patting his shoulder. "It's okay, Sora… I don't really like doctors either, but you're just going to the nurse's office. They can't do anything at school, they won't hurt you…"

"B-but—"

"No buts, Sora!" Riku narrowed his eyes, telling Sora that he was serious. "You're going, and that's final."

Riku and Kairi delivered a pouting Sora to the school nurse, smiling nervously as they left him. Moping and unhappy, Sora quietly explained that he didn't feel well and sat through the nurse checking his temperature and questioning him. She let him nap and said she would call his mother, and he decided he'd just sleep now, since he doubted he'd sleep once his mother came to get him.

What surprised him was that his mother hadn't shown up. He woke at three to find the nurse on the phone, sighing as she tried calling another number. Standing up, he walked into the main room, rubbing his eyes as he looked at her.

"Oh, sweetie, you're awake…" she said softly. "I'm sorry… I'm having difficulty contacting your mother or the emergency contacts… Is there another number I could possibly reach?"

Sora blinked. "Um… I don't think so. She doesn't have a cell phone and if she's not answering at home or at work, then she's probably running errands…" He rubbed at one of his eyes tiredly. "I can just take the bus home… I don't feel that bad anymore."

Lie. Actually, he felt much worse than earlier because of the nap. Although he didn't have the urge to heave his guts anymore, his head felt a bit swimmy and the room he had been sleeping in was so cold he had goosebumps. He just wanted to curl up and sleep some more, but school was almost over. He could stay awake until he reached home…

"Are you sure, Sora?" the nurse asked again. "I don't want to stuff you on a school bus if we can find your mother."

"She's probably out," Sora mumbled. "I'll be okay getting home. My mom might be home when I get there." He gave her a tired smile and assured her he would be fine, and promptly walked out of the nurse's office. He could hear her calling after him but ignored her, heading to his last class. Unfortunately, he only made it to the bathroom and locked himself in the stall farthest from the door until the last bell rang. He then walked home in the rain.

* * *

_6:46 PM_

Sora had been so happy his mother wasn't home when he entered. He didn't want to talk to her, or anyone, about why he hadn't washed the dishes or started his homework or why he was laying on the couch with his shoes on. He just came in and slept—that was all he wanted, a few good days to stay in a coma-like state until he felt better. He walked in shortly after four and just collapsed on the softest thing in the room, hugging the couch's pillows as he drifted into a calm slumber.

Unfortunately, she had come home in less than five hours and woke him by smacking his leg. "What are you doing sleeping?" she barked.

He heard her. He knew what she was asking and the implications her words held and her silent message telling him to move. He just didn't want to respond. Forcing his sleep-heavy eyelids to open, he looked blearily at her. "W-what, mom?" he asked.

"I said—" she started, reaching down to grab his arm. "Take those nasty shoes off my couch or you're cleanin' the whole damn house tomorrow!"

"B-but I have school tomorrow," he said quickly, dropping his feet to the floor. "I can't—"

She slapped him. Surprisingly, it hadn't been a hard slap at all, just her hand pressing against his cheek to shut him up so she could continue. He looked at the floor, and she quickly placed her hands on his cheeks, lifting his head to face her.

"You do what I tell you, right, Sora? Because you love Mommy."

He nodded slowly. "Y-yes, Mother…"

"And you wouldn't be goin' to school anyway. Did you know they called six times? I got some message from the nurse, she said you're sick."

Sora tried to look away but his mother wouldn't allow it. She pressed her forehead to his, and after blinking for a few seconds, she sighed softly. "You need to sleep, okay, Pooh?" she whispered. Sora knew the change, and although he didn't want to deal with any mother right now, he didn't mind dealing with this one. "Momma's gonna make you some soup, okay?"

He nodded slowly. "O-okay…" he mumbled. Standing, he walked with her to his bedroom, curling up on the stiff mattress with his comforter pulled over his head. His mother wished him good night and soon scuttled into the kitchen, pots and pans clinking loudly as she went through the task of cooking soup. Sora rose only once to retrieve Pooh from his closet, and he slept until well into Tuesday.

* * *

**Day 4**

_09:19_

"…_suspecting some sort of brain damage…"_

"_Are you sure, sir?"_

He recognized that voice as the one from yesterday, though he couldn't focus well on the words, but he tried to catch a few words. Many were lost in the haze tiredness had created, but he struggled not to lose focus and sleep again.

"_Suspecting, Kisaragi. Besides the bandages, he seems _almost blind_… uncoordinated, very _confused_… I'm hoping none of his head wounds caused any significant damage… hopefully _it's all temporary, or caused on his own_, though I haven't seen a patient cause himself to be blind…"_

He knew this voice, but he couldn't place a name. Just… one of the white coat people… a doctor. The thought made him wary.

"_M-maybe _it's like_ the mutism? Maybe he _doesn't wish tosee_…"_

The lady from yesterday again… He could hear a sigh in the midst of the chatter and didn't wish to listen anymore. Wriggling a little against the soft mattress, he opened his eyes to find two figures standing near his bed. He stared emptily towards them for a few seconds and blinked slowly, rubbing his eyes as he tried to rid himself of the looming tiredness. The doctor said something to the woman from yesterday and took his leave, and the woman approached him, sitting on the bed next to him.

He stared at her, trying to focus. Pinks, more blues… He rubbed his eyes again and blinked.

"Do your eyes bother you?" she asked him softly.

Blinking, he looked up and frowned. So much white… just so much of it… it surrounded him, covered him and held him from the white below. After glancing around for a few seconds, he stared down at his hands. Something not completely white… pale fingers stuck out of white and tan bandages and he frowned, picking at one of them.

A tanned hand reached out and touched his hands, fingers curling around his bandages. He followed the hand with his eyes, moving upward to look at the pale blue sleeve. Slowly, he reached over and tugged at it. Real… solid. That was good… his world was not all white…

"Hey, can you hear me?" she inquired. "Can you say something?"

He looked up at her and blinked. Though he knew what she was asking, he couldn't think of why or what to tell her. Looking down again, he shifted a bit closer to her, tugging on her sleeve again. Blue was much more pleasant to look at than the rest of the room; he just wanted to focus on that.

She sighed. "You can't tug at my sleeve all day, you know," she informed. "You'll have to say something soon…"

He tugged again.

"Okay…" She frowned slightly and looked at the ceiling, and he watched her carefully, wondering if he had done something wrong. He wanted to know if he would be punished, if he was going to get in trouble for this. Watching avidly, he waited for a response—a smile. She… she smiled at him. "That's okay. I know you're not blind or deaf or anything… but are you hungry?"

He looked down and slowly nodded, kicking at his blankets. The white… he didn't want to touch it anymore. He was too close, there was too much… all around, it was going to take him…

"_No, no, sweetie, please don't panic!"_

He wriggled around on the bed, shoving back his pillow, pushing his blankets from him. He stared at the bed and then at the floor and ceiling and almost wailed—it was everywhere; if he moved from one, he'd stand near another. Leaning forward, his pale hands reached for her as he wriggled about and tried to grab hold of her without touching more of the bed. He felt her hands hold onto his but he couldn't move closer and began to shake his head, incoherent words flowing from his mouth in broken phrases.

"Sora!" she said quickly.

He silenced, staring at her.

"You're alright… it's alright…" She pulled him closer and he quickly wiggled to sit next to her, his hands holding onto hers tightly. A few seconds of more silence passed before she spoke again. "Come on, Sora… let's go out for a little walk, okay?"

He clung to her as she walked him to the wheelchair and sat quickly, clinging to the armrests when she had him settled. He looked forward as the chair began to move…

White… white… not-white.

A door.

A tiny smile formed as she wheeled him out of the room.

* * *

**end o3**

* * *

So there ya go! First chappy posted in college! Sorry if they're a bit slow coming out—I'm trying to get used to this school and have been shopping with the roomies. 

College. Is. GREAT.

**:Darkness Princess.**


	5. 04, affliction

A thousand times, I apologize, yet not enough seem to satisfy the guilt wreaking havoc in my heart

I dropped out of Physics, finally, but now my challenge is Calculus.

Plus, D, J, K, L, and I have been doing quite a lot together—well, more so D and me—and it monopolizes my time. Severely. Especially when they drag me off to things I never agreed to in the first place… -sigh- But they're sweet anyway.

**COOL THING! (minus cosplay)**

My AMV was selected as one of three in my category for the **New York Anime Festival**'s contest! If I win, I get a LOT of free stuff. Let's hope… my wish: _Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door_.

**Following Thanks:**

**LiteraryMirage**, **Cheerful-Pessimist**, **coolgamer**, **AnimeDragonofFire**, **Wilixer**, **Koi-Bara**, **darkangelwings90**, **hanakitsunechan7** (it's you!), **smudgeworthy**, **RkR**, **FaLlEn-AnGeL627**, and **shiki1696**.

**TheGreatHippoThief**, you know why she flipped. (I being a tease again, but you got it right.) And I'll tell you. Yuffie Kisaragi is Sora's nurse.

You all flatter me so much! -giggle- I really am sorry I made you all wait so much. 'Specially since **smudgeworthy** offered to risk some kneecaps to beg. Sorry!

Remember to breathe. It helps.

* * *

**To Create Something Tangible**

Chapitre 4

_**affliction**_

* * *

_He winced. The searing pain of leather striking his skin made him bite his lip to resist the urge of crying in pain, and he struggled to lift himself from the carpet. He wished he hadn't worn the socks, angry at how they made him slip to the ground constantly. Gripping the floor with his hands, he forced himself to his feet, but the belt cracked against his back and he collapsed again._

_Pleading wasn't going to work, he knew. He had tried and he had failed, and he knew he could only move from here. He struggled to stand and glanced around calmly, seeking some form of shelter, anything which could prevent her from reaching him again. He made it to his knees again and, somehow, managed to stand despite the three cracks across his spine. The end brushed across bruising and bleeding skin as he took off at a run, keeping himself up by pushing against the carpet when necessary._

_His room… Shoving the door open, he hurried in and tripped onto the concrete floor._

Sora's eyes opened quickly and he stared at the pale ceiling, damp strands of chocolate-colored hair clinging to his pale forehead. Hot… so hot… everything felt abnormally hazy for being this late, especially with the air conditioning blowing as much as it was. He figured he was running another fever—his temperature kept changing every few hours—but he wasn't sure…

With a soft sigh, he stood and stretched, tiredness slipping from him as he roused himself for the day. The sun wasn't up yet, but he didn't mind so much. Perhaps he would eat something and watch the sunset outside, or maybe even just from his bedroom window. He felt well enough to come out of his room right now; he just hoped he wouldn't run into his mother. She shouldn't be up this early anyway…

He headed out to a wave of heat which immediately made him dizzy. Now, this couldn't be just a fever… this had to be something else. Did his mother turn on the heat instead of the cool air? Biting his bottom lip, Sora tiptoed his way to the Central AC box on the wall and checked the temperature. 75°F… nothing abnormal about that. With a frown, he began to walk down the hall, the heat becoming almost unbearable the further he went. Something had to be burning, then… burning… kitchen!

Sora sprinted to the kitchen to find heat and smoke almost burning his skin. It was hot and uncomfortable and he coughed loudly, almost gagging on the air as his eyes squinted and searched for the source of the smoke. Smoke went burning, and burning usually meant fire… he began to wonder if his mother left something on the stove, then began to ask himself why she would've cooked to begin with. As he approached the kitchen, he realized it was, indeed, something from the stove or oven which had created all the smoke.

He approached with caution. Unsure where his mommy was or if she was even awake enough to deal with this, he took matter into his own hands, for her safety. Then, brazen or stupid in his next movements, he grabbed the stove's metal handle and yanked it open, to find a meaty substance singed black. He recognized the scent, faintly, as chicken. The stove was hurting his hands, but he knew he had to get the chicken out before it actually did catch fire.

So he grabbed the dishcloths and a paper towel and lifted the chicken from the oven. The paper and cloth protection did little to nothing to shield his hands from the burning metal pot, but he didn't let go until he had lifted it over the kitchen. It slid into the sink with an unhappy clank, knocking into a plate as it attempted to settle. From there, Sora shut the oven, and, fanning the smoke about so he could see, he turned the oven's temperature knob to OFF.

His hands… oh, how they _burned_. He had to bite his tongue to avoid crying out in pain, staring at the reddened and swelling palms. He wasn't even sure if he had saved his fingertips, but he had a feeling he hadn't. Sora turned on the cold water and quickly plunged his hands under the sink, waiting quietly as he wished for the feeling to leave.

"Why did Mommy try to cook?" he whispered softly to himself. She was going to cause trouble if she continued this, but Sora wasn't going to tell her that. After all, a good boy who knew not to speak out of line, and he didn't want to slip up and be punished for stepping out of line. That would be just so awful…

The kitchen door swung open and his mother's pale hand stopped it from returning to the frame. "You," she said calmly.

He looked up. "Y-yes, Mom?" he asked, eyes attempting to widen through the smoke. They watered immediately, and he could feel warm tears quickly drifting down his cheeks.

She sighed. "What the hell're you cryin' for?" she asked him as she entered. "I didn't hit you, did I?"

He shook his head. "I'm not crying," he replied. "The smoke… burns my eyes."

His mother glanced around the kitchen. "Why the hell is there so much smoke in here?" she inquired. "What happened, something burn?"

Sora nodded. "Chicken…" he told her.

He knew better than to ask if she put the chicken in the oven and merely looked at her quietly, and instead stood and stared at his hands. She gave him an approving nod, running a hand through his hair, and calmly left the room. Sighing, he checked his hands and pulled them from the sink, turning it off gingerly. They stung still, but there wasn't much he could do about them now. With a sigh, he went to the bathroom and struggled his way into bandaging them.

Once he managed to fix his hands, he sighed. He was fully awake by this point. Though everything was still hot and he smelled like smoke, Sora didn't think he could sleep again. He sighed and moved to the living room, sitting quietly on the couch.

Ten minutes of staring at the dark screen of the television and the walls around him had him pacing around the house. Another five minutes and he headed to the kitchen, propping the door open with a dining room chair to let the smoke leave the room. He figured he might as well check his temperature. Though he was going to school either way, he wanted to be sure he was getting better. He needed to get better so his mommy didn't have to worry.

With a frown, he struggled to open a drawer and pulled out a digital thermometer, washing it then sliding it under his tongue. Wait wait wait… he stared at the chicken, wondering if it was unhappy that it couldn't be eaten—but that was silly, Sora knew, though he was bored and this passed the time—the thermometer beeped. He slid it from his mouth and stared at it carefully, eyes squinting at the small digital numbers.

Down to 100.1. That was actually good. Sora smiled and looked up at the ceiling, hoping that maybe the burning chicken would be the only bad thing to happen to him today.

* * *

**Thursday**

_8:16 AM_

"Sora…"

Sora ignored Riku's pestering. It was early morning, and Sora was going to claim he arrived late by spending a little while in the library. He just didn't feel like running into any others, to be honest, and was fine just sitting here with a fantasy novel he planned on checking out later. He tugged his jacket tighter over his lithe frame and stared intently at the book in front of him.

Riku was asking about his arm-warmers. Sora didn't wear arm-warmers normally, but today, with the bandages secured tightly around his fingers, he needed to. They had been old gloves of his, black with silver knuckles and yellow along the center, and he merely cut off the fingertips. He would check them every few minutes to make sure they hid the bandages.

"Sora, what happened?" Riku asked.

"For the billionth time, Riku… _nothing_ happened!" he whispered, then turned to his book.

Riku narrowed his eyes and looked at the book. "You're lying…"

Sora tugged at his jacket again, wishing that the fading black hoodie wasn't so big on him. It was warm and comfortable, though it hung from his shoulders very loosely due to his poor diet. Rolling his eyes, he focused on his book and flipped a page. "Nothing happened."

The silver-haired boy just wouldn't leave him. Sora had figured he wouldn't, but it didn't stop him from hoping that Riku's pestering would reach a conclusion. It wasn't, sadly enough. Sora knew he would be bothered until Riku either believed his lie or couldn't question it anymore. He was hoping they would happen within the next few minutes.

It didn't, unfortunately. Riku moved to sit next to him and withdrew a textbook. From there, he crossed his arms and dropped them on the book, leaning forward to look at him.

"What's wrong with you, then? If nothing happened, something's got to be wrong."

"Riku, please, I'm trying to read!" Sora whispered quickly, holding up his book. He quickly leaned forward, pulling himself closer to the page to focus on the words. Eyes squinted and widened to stare, but the letters sloshed about the page… or was it the page which moved? Or maybe… maybe it was the universe…

Riku frowned. "Your eyes are bloodshot," he said simply, sighing as he turned his eyes towards the library lights. "Why didn't I see that before?" His head turned down and he sighed softly. "You're still sick! What are you doing at school?"

Sora shook his head quickly, shifting back a little. "I'm not sick, I'm fine!" he insisted. "I walked to school just fine, and I plan on being just fine here…"

With a frown, Riku leaned forward, pressing his forehead against Sora's. Sora stared at him with wide eyes, his mouth open slightly in shock as Riku looked sternly at him. "Your fever's probably high still, isn't it?" he asked. "I'm going to take you to my house, okay?"

"Bu—"

Riku placed gentle fingers on Sora's chapped lips. "Look, my guardians are both working today. And you can stay in my room and they won't see you. But you don't need to be at school, especially sick."

The brunet frowned softly behind Riku's fingers, his voice coming out soft and muffled as he spoke. "But I'm not sick."

"Tell that to your fever." Riku moved away, pushing himself up from his chair. "Come on, we'll take the bus. It's too far to walk, and it's _definitely_ not smart in your condition."

Riku immediately knew Sora would put up a struggle, but he had prepared quickly. Reaching over, he grabbed Sora by the arm as the boy began to climb from his chair, a stern look on his face reading one simple message: _don't even think about it_. And Sora knew he had to follow, defeat taking the form of a new sad expression on his face. Riku's thumb gently rubbed against his arm, and he leaned over gently.

"Don't look so sad, it'll be okay…" he whispered. "Come on…"

Sora took his time gathering his books, sliding them into his backpack and zipping it slowly. He slid it over his back and watched as Riku discretely grabbed hold of the strap's adjustment. As a precaution, Sora guessed. They began to walk from the library, Sora smiling brightly and waving to the librarians before they left. They soon headed outside and Riku found himself giving Sora his coat, helping him button and zip it up.

The smaller boy whined slightly as he fixed his sleeves. "Riku, how come you're making me use your coat?" he asked.

Riku gave him a slight smile. "You need to keep warm," he answered. "And I don't want to carry it."

"Don't you need to keep warm too?" Sora pressed, trying to fight Riku's hands from the zippers.

Riku firmly tugged the zipper up more. "I wore too many layers, and I like this weather," he replied. "Leave the coat on, okay?"

Sighing, Sora let his hands drop and looked at the sleeves. "Okay… Can we go now?"

"Yeah, let's go."

* * *

_10:17 AM_

Sora wasn't even sure when he fell asleep, only that Riku was gently nudging him back into reality. They had gotten seats on the fairly empty bus, after the driver gave them odd looks for getting _on_ from a stop outside of the school, and Sora found himself squished in the coat. He liked the marshmallow feeling it provided, keeping him warm and contained in sheer _soft_, and he had merely closed his eyes to enjoy the warmth.

And before he knew it, he was being helped down the stairs of the bus onto the cold grass below. Riku was frowning slightly.

So he smiled. "What's with the long face, Riku?" he asked calmly, tilting his head to the side.

Riku sighed and shook his head. "It's nothing… come on…" He draped an arm around Sora's shoulders and led him from the bus stop, guiding his shoulders through a winding path of trees and grass and sometimes sidewalk, to a pale yellow house with an ash-grey roof and white shutters upon the windows.

Sora smiled at it. "It looks so happy!" he exclaimed as he took in the scenery.

From what he could notice immediately, the grass hadn't been mowed in a while. The mailbox was a bright blue, with three little faces painted on the side, along with a name stretched beneath it: HIGHWIND. Sora could recognize two of the faces as Shera and Riku. Mainly because Shera had a poof of brown hair and Riku's had an uncommon silver sheen. There was a blond with odd bug-eyes on his head and Sora had to stare for a moment. He was… smoking, yes, that was what that white line was.

Riku leaned over his shoulder. "That man is Cid," he replied. "He's Shera's husband… I think."

Sora looked over at him. "You think?" he asked.

A smile formed on Riku's lips as he took Sora's hand and began to lead him inside. "Well, they don't really act like they're married, and only Shera wears a ring," he answered. "It's kind of funny, actually. Cid's so mean to her. He's always swearing and shouting at her from some other part of the house, and she answers to his every beck and call, but then they're really romantic when she can convince him to calm down and sit with her." He looked up thoughtfully. "It's actually rather sweet. They're like my parents."

Sora had to smile at that. It was very cute. Not only the story but also the peaceful look on Riku's face, the soft, gentle glow in his usually piercing eyes. They were actually a very soft shade of aquamarine, and, when they hit the light at this angle, reminded Sora of those peaceful afternoon skies right before sunset, back when his mother was happy and took him to the park every Wedne—

Riku turned to look at him and blinked calmly. "Sora… let's get you inside, okay?" He waited for no response and pulled Sora towards the front door, holding his hand calmly as he fished through his pocket for his keys. Sora rested his head on Riku's shoulder for a little, his hand gently gripping Riku's sleeves as he waited for his taller friend to unlock the door and push it open. Riku looked over his shoulder and smiled. "Come on… my room's upstairs."

"Oh wow…." Sora's eyes had landed on a small table with a little circular plate containing a pile of sand and a few shells, as well as tiny pieces of a model rocket ship. "That's so cool, Riku."

And Riku only smiled. "Come on, Sora… when I invite you over properly, I'll give you a tour."

"Okay," Sora agreed.

Calmly, the two made their way upstairs, turning left as they reached the main hallway.

* * *

_4:41 PM_

Something was making noise.

Sora couldn't recognize it at first, only alerted by loud beeping in some odd, melodious tune, followed by loud grumbling. He didn't want to move, whining softly as he turned to his side to curl up closer to the warm body next to him. Riku sighed as he turned to his side, checking his phone.

"What is it?" Sora mumbled, burrowing himself under the covers. He didn't even want an answer; he just wanted the noises to stop, he wanted to sleep some more.

That was when Riku groaned loudly and pulled a cell phone from his pocket.

It continued to jingle.

Sora smiled as he recognized the tune, whispering the lyrics as he followed. "Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feeeeeeel…"

The song stopped immediately as Riku pushed a button on his phone. He frowned slightly and sat up. "Sora, we slept _way_ later than I thought we would. _Way_ later."

With a soft yawn, Sora sat up, rubbing his eyes gently. "What do you mean, Riku? What time is it?"

"Time for Shera to bust me," he mumbled as he running a hand through his hair. "Sora, school's been out for over half an hour. We didn't go back to school, and Shera's there wondering where I am." He sighed. "I don't want to lie to her…"

Sora frowned slightly. "Won't you get in trouble?"

Riku gave a slight nod, though his face had twisted into an unsure look. "Well… probably something little, but I don't know how Cid's gonna act."

"What are you gonna tell them?" Sora asked him. He was beginning to wonder what they would think of him. They probably thought he was trouble, skipping school with Riku. Maybe he was being a bad influence, driving Riku to such measures. Perhaps he was really a troublemaker, just like his mother said he was…

With a slight shrug, Riku turned onto his side and made himself comfortable, then let a hand rise to touch Sora's forehead. "Do you feel any better?" he asked. "You're not as warm as earlier."

The smaller brunet smiled and nodded. "Sleep is nice," he answered. "I'll have to wait until I'm more awake, though, I'm really tired still."

Riku nodded. "You should be, you're sick," he answered. "But before you go back to sleep, can you tell me why you have a giant cut on your back?"

"A… what?" Sora asked, looking over his shoulder. His hands found the edges of his shirt and he lifted gingerly, trying to see what Riku was mentioning. Riku ran a thin finger across the long, fading slash in the middle of Sora's back and Sora blinked. Lie… lie… what to lie… "Um…" He squinted at it. "Probably at the playground."

A frown immediately formed on Riku's lips. "A playground, Sora—"

The door opened and both boys turned their heads to look at a tall male in his mid-thirties, staring at them with a wide-eyed, confused and disturbed expression. "What the fuckin' hell, Riku?" the man asked.

Sora noticed the aviator goggles perched on the man's forehead and the unshaven chin and figured that this was Cid Highwind. He looked rather… for lack of a better word, _pissed_, to find Riku and Sora in bed. But Sora couldn't figure if it was because they weren't in school or because they were both male; and he could only stare as Riku tugged down Sora's shirt and began to climb out of the bed. How could _this_ be explained?

"Cid, it's _not_ what it looks like," Riku began, holding up his hands.

Cid held up a hand, signaling for Riku to silence himself. He fished into his pocket for a few seconds and soon withdrew a small white box. Turning it onto its side, he knocked it against the palm of his other hand and pulled out a cigarette. From there, he placed it in his mouth and looked up.

"This'll be rich," he grumbled. "Both o' ya. Livin' room. Now."

Sora jumped at the stern tone of his voice and quickly slid from under the blanket and onto the carpeted floor. He picked up his shoes and followed as Riku exited the room, staring up at Cid with worried blue eyes. Cid gave him a dull look and started searching his pockets again. …Cid, Sora decided, was probably unhappy and confused.

And Riku didn't say another word, grabbing Sora's wrist and leading him back downstairs, turning left and heading through a small passageway to the living room. Sora ended up staring at the floor as Riku pushed him towards the couch and sat down on one end with a dramatic sigh, and the most Sora could do was sit and look around quietly.

The room was small but homely. It had dark-wood floors and walls painted with horizontal stripes of off-white and pale yellow. There were pictures of rockets and newspaper clippings on the walls and a few photographs of Cid and Shera, though there were quite a few of Riku, along the mantle. Sora found himself staring at one of Riku with a bandage over his left eye, barely visible pass the mess of long, silver hair; in the photograph, he had a wide smile, standing in front of a fancily dressed Cid with Shera hugging him. The frame's decorations read 'This is Home.'

Sora nudged Riku and whispered, "When was that one taken, Riku?"

Riku looked up quietly and blinked, then let his eyes shut. "When Cid and Shera adopted me," he answered plainly.

"Oh."

"No talkin'!" Cid barked from upstairs.

And once again, they were in silence, minus the small, confused mumblings of Cid from upstairs. He yawned softly and let his eyes shut, unsure about what else to do besides 'think about what he had done'. But besides skipping school, which hadn't even been his idea, what had they done?

A door opened and Sora could hear hurried footsteps as it slammed behind her. "Riku?" a voice called out. Sora recognized it as Shera from earlier and he smiled slightly.

Riku sighed. "Living room," he answered dully. It sounded so routine by the unchanging tone in his voice, and Sora stared towards the doorway as Shera came rushing in, pulling Riku into a tight hug.

"Oh, Riku, you worried me so much!" She smoothed his hair down gently and pulled away, holding his face gently. Her eyes narrowed almost dangerously. "Don't ever scare me like that again!"

Riku blinked slowly. "Sorry. We were going to go back, honest."

She pulled back and crossed her arms, waiting for her husband as he walked down the stairs with a lit cigarette perched in his lips. Sora glanced at Riku, who was wrinkling his nose slightly in disgust, and Sora tried his best to ignore it. One of the poisons which clung to his mother… The moment the brunt of the smoky stench hit his nose, it assaulted his lungs and sent him into a small coughing fit. Through the soft, frail hacking, Sora could feel Riku's smooth hand on his back, patting him gently, and Shera fussed about the smoking before she hurried from the room. He finally calmed down in time to find Shera holding him a glass of water for him.

"Here, honey," she whispered. "I'm sorry about that… Cid has a bit of a habit."

Sora nodded slowly. "It's okay," he told her, reaching for the glass. "I'm u-used to it."

As his hands brushed the glass, Shera frowned and gripped his right wrist gently, holding his hand out. "Sora… what happened to your fingers?" she asked. "How did you burn your hands like this?"

Caught? Definitely caught. Lie… what lie could he explain with this? He frowned slightly and looked down, thinking…

A tiny cough escaped in the silence.

Then Sora looked up with a sheepish smile. "I was burning my dinner," he explained. "I was hoping I could surprised my mom by cooking—"

"And you didn't use oven mitts?!" Riku asked in disbelief.

Sora shook his head and sent his smile in Riku's direction. _'Please believe me, please believe me.'_ "I had been trying to decorate them, and I left them in my room," he answered. "And I didn't want it to burn."

"Sora…" Riku said lowly. "That… is… _so_ freakin' stupid!"

"Riku!"

"Well, it is!" Riku yelled. "And Sora's always coming up with bullshit like this!" He turned in his chair and glared darkly. "I bet he doesn't _own_ an umbrella, and that's why he always walks in the rain! And he came to school _sick_, and he sometimes shows up without lunch or even money, so Kairi and I have to feed him or he looks like he'll sit there and starve. And he's got a _slash mark_ on his _back_ from a _playground_. How do you get a slash mark from a playground? Explain that, Sora!"

Sora was speechless.

Riku hadn't believed a word he had said all semester. He was seeing through every one of Sora's lies and pieced things together so quickly. His aquamarine eyes which stared so deeply had completely seen through Sora, and Sora had nothing to say.

He collapsed into tears, crying and sobbing as he shook his head and weaved his bruised hands into his hair. "It's not true!" he squeaked, "It's not true! N-none of it! I-I'm f-fine, y-you're lying!" He leaned forward and doubled over to cry into his knees. Crying went from loud, upset sobs to hiccupping and coughing, and Shera was quickly rubbing his back again and trying to get him to drink some water.

From then on, Sora knew Riku was a threat.

* * *

**Day 5**

_12:13 PM_

The soft breeze against his skin was so relaxing, and the heat from the higher sources warmed him in a gentle manner. The sun… yes, he remembered the sun. Yuffie had given him shades to protect his eyes, as a precaution in case he looked up in curiosity. Everything roused his curiosity these days, if he could recognize it to be safe. Things warm and peaceful, in places where he knew he was normally alone.

The echoing of a sound from a grey structure in front of him. Something moving… glistening in the sun's light. Yet it wasn't yellow… actually, it seemed so pure, so white… yet a brighter white than he had seen, nothing like the four walls. He couldn't help but stare at it. Sometimes, green floated into the glistening white object of his attention, and sometimes he would watch where it floated, but he found himself staring more at the reflection of the sun.

Voices were drifting around him. He could hear them, only faintly, over the waves of air which passed him and cooled the skin heated by the light, though they didn't seem too important. They had been around him for as long as he had been out here, talking just beyond his scope of hearing.

Then one called his name. The lady from yesterday, from today, earlier…

"Sora, it's time to head inside now," she said softly.

He tried turning his head, but the most he managed to do was let his head fall onto his shoulder and he almost frowned. Gentle hands straightened the sunglasses and he could see the figure in front of him, looking at him. Dark eyes staring at him… smiling…

His mother's eyes were that dark…

Was she here?

She must have seen the worried look on his face, for he felt a hand on his cheek and she smiled. "Its okay, Sora, we're just going back inside."

He looked at her once again, then his head turned down as his eyes blurred once more. His thin arms wrapped around his shoulders and fingers gripped the sleeves of his pajamas as the contraption beneath him began to move. The movement… once again he was drifting beyond his control…

She sighed and began to speak, but he couldn't hear her.

"_Sora… Sora! Come on, Sora, don't do this now…"_

Softer hands touched his and the contraption stopped moving. He looked up emptily at the shimmering surface, which hadn't been disturbed. Only… shifted. A difference in perspective. Slowly, his hands let go and slid from her grip, back into his lap where he tugged on his fingers, though his pale orbs stared directly at the shining shape before his eyes. He didn't want to leave it, not yet.

* * *

**end o4**

* * *

So thar we go, my dearies! I don't know when chapter five will come up, since, well... I need to start it. Actually, I finished this chapter this morning. (Wah, I'm writing so slowly!) I'll try and get better at this, I promise!

**:Darkness Princess.**


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